If I Had A Million Dollars

In the song the artists list-off houses, cars, outrageous animals and other things they would purchase or give away had they the money to do so.  They sound like grownup kids in a candy shop, with a million dreams to match every dollar.

I work, as most know, at an SA gas station in a smaller town and we sell lottery like the stars come out at night.  There's a flashing neon sign in our store window that runs the amount of each jackpot every few minutes. 

Work is really slow, in fact I'm writing this on my break as we speak, and I caught a glimpse that one jackpot, the Mega Millions, is up to 290 million dollars.

290 mill!  A week or so ago a customer told me that someone in New York had won 16 million on that same lottery.

I started thinking about purchasing a ticket myself.  What would I do with all that money though?  Business is slow and ideas began popping into my head.  
They say money changes a person.  We've all heard the stories of past lottery winners; quitting their jobs, retiring early to a private beach and then ending up in some dramatic scandal due to greed taking over their better judgment.  
Well, there's those people and then there's the little old couple in Idaho that wins a couple million and donates as much as they can to charities, while keeping there jobs and living a comfortable, humble life.

So what would you, or anyone do, with that kind of money? 

I know so many people with financial problems; loosing jobs, not being able to afford school, housing foreclosures, etc.  
I know someone who can't even afford his or her own divorce.  With our national debt and the economy down the toilet it's about all we seem to be able to think about.  People are more cautious about swiping that credit card. I know for a while I handed mine to my mother and told her not to give it back to me out of a streak of self-discipline.

I have a few ideas, of what I would do with such money.  People like using the phrase "If only," and I've remembered some things they have told me they’d like had they the money for it.

I would help my mother get somewhere warm, because the cold makes it hard for her to breathe.

I would give my dad any tools he needed to start-up his own computer business.  He's always wanted to be his own boss.

I would buy my friend Annie her own helicopter, because she's wanted to be a pilot since she was eight years old.

 I would buy my ex boyfriend the nicest, fastest car I could find.  I remember once when he told me that if he had a nice car he would be happy, because it's all he really ever wanted.

I would help pay for my friend Tyler’s college education, so he could get out of his house and start life on his own without the worry of debt.

I'd pay off my friend Jess's school loans, so she could start her life with her boyfriend comfortably.

I'd buy Lizzy a hamster, with an awesome wall-to-wall crawling cage, just because she's always wanted one.

I'd buy my sister Megan a dog or two, and donate some money to the human society in hope that it’d solve all animal cruelty problems and those sad commercials wouldn’t show up on my TV screen anymore.

I would help my friend Aaron start and design his own coffee shop… he’s a little addicted to the magic bean (:

And for myself, well I've always dreamed of traveling the world.  I'd pay off my college loans before bringing my boyfriend, and best freind, Peter, with me, to see the seven new and old wonders of the world together. 

 It would be great to win that 290 million, to think of all the things I could do.  Those are just a few of the things I’d do first.  
The things I really want, money, of course, can't buy me; new bones and lungs for my grandma, or a time machine to take me back with all the knowledge I have today. 

So what would you do, if you won all that money?  Is it really that easy to solve our problems, and the problems of the people we know?  For the longest time I've stood by the fact that money cannot buy happiness, and I continue to believe that. True, your life would be easier.  But most people's problems aren't about material objects, those objects just act as a comfort.  And as far as happiness goes, it's human nature to always want more than we can have.

I'll admit... I'm probably going to end up buying one or two tickets before I leave work today.  But for those of you that are mentioned in this blog, if I win the 290 million dollar jackpot, you be sure to keep me to my word.